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How not to work at height

17 March 2016

By Jason Godfrey, General Manager, Safesite Ltd

I was having lunch last week at our local deli when I happened to look out of the window and couldn't believe what I was seeing. Directly across the road, a commercial building was being painted by a team of contractors, with one painter using a very unorthodox means of access.

So where do I start? The contractor was working off a stepladder which was placed in a skip, which in turn was on a MEWP....and to cap it all, the work was being carried out next to a very busy public road in open view of all passers-by.

It really doesn't bear thinking what could have happened if he had fallen, particularly as there are railings directly below where he is working.

It's no surprise that falls from height remain the number 1 cause of fatalities in the work place. Far too often what seems to be a quick fix to some, can in fact have severe consequences.